Automatic brake control for upright web roll stands



Jan. 6, 1970 M. D. MARTIN AUTOMATIC BRAKBCONTROL FOR UPRIGHT WEB ROLL STANDS Filed June 10. 1968 s Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENT OR ATTORNEY Jan. 6,1970 I M. D.'MART|N 3,488,014

AUTOMATIC. BRAKE CONTROL FOR UPR-IGHTiWEB ROLL STANDS Fil'ad June 1a, 1968 I s Sheet-Sheetz rmh\ h-w' I 0, ,4? 1 l L... 53 52 i 1. 2 i ,3 m .5.

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AUTOMATIC BRAKE CONTROL FOR UPRIGHT WEB ROLL STANDS Filed June 10, 1968 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVEN'IOR MERRILL D. MART/N ATTORNEY United States Patent O 3,488,014 AUTOMATIC BRAKE CONTROL FOR UPRIGHT WEB ROLL STANDS Merrill D. Martin, 2 Mall Court, Oakland, Calif. 94611 Filed June 10, 1968, Ser. No. 735,614 Int. Cl. B6511 23/16 U.S. Cl. 24275.46 9 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE On an upright web roll stand, spaced uprights hold conical chuck spindles in axial registry to extend into the core of a web roll and rotatably hold the web roll for unwinding. Each spindle has a hydraulic brake for maintaining optimum tension on the roll. One of the chuck spindles is supported in a substantially vertically adjustable housing pivoted on the top of its upright, the axis of the pivot being generally parallel with the axis of the chuck spindle. The pivoted housing rests on the top of a hydraulic piston rod so as to be adjustable about its pivot. A hydraulic sensor system actuated by the weight of the web roll exerted on said pivoted housing controls the hydraulic brake tension on the chuck spindles according to the combined effect of the variation of the roll diameter and the weight of the roll.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Automatic brake controls were successfully used on the type of web roll stands wherein the chuck spindles were held in swingable arms, as shown in US. Patent No. 3,276,711 issued on Oct. 4, 1966, and US. Patent No. 3,306,551 issued on Feb. 28, 1967, to Merrill D. Martin, wherein the arm lifting cylinder-s were part of the hydraulic control system. However, there is no successful automatic brake control on web roll stands with nonswingable uprights, therefore manual adjustment of brake pressure on the spindles prevailed and still prevails. In the herein invention the principle of the hydraulic system of said Patent No. 3,306,551 is applied to web rolls with non-swingable uprights, by a novel pivoted support of one of the spindle chucks the weight of which bears on an actuating cylinder which in turn operates the hydraulic sensor and regulator system for the brake control, thereby obviating the difficulties heretofore experienced on the type of web roll stands with non-swin-gable uprights.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side view of a web roll stand with a pair of uprights.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the upright with the adjustable chuck spindle support.

FIG. 3 is a fragmental sectional detail view.

FIG. 4 is a hydraulic system diagram for the device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION In a web roll stand with spaced uprights 1, in constant perpendicular attitude, the chuck spindle supporting structure on one of said uprights 1 is fulcrumed on a pivot 2 and rests on a hydraulic raising device 3.

The hydraulic sensor and regulator system As shown in the flow diagram in FIG. 4, which is similar to the flow diagram in said US. Patent No. 3,306,551, a piston rod 4 of piston 5 working in a cylinder 6 supports a bearing casing 7 of said chuck spindle supporting structure. As the weight and diameter of the web roll 12 varies during unwinding, the pressure exerted on the piston 6 varies correspondingly and through the hydraulic sensor and regulator system corresponding braking force is applied to both chuck spindles.

Patented Jan. 6, 1970 "ice The hydraulic sensor and regulator system flows through an intake conduit 8 into the intake end of the lifting cylinder 6. A conduit 9 connects the intake conduit 8 through a usual check valve 10 to the manually operated main valve 11.

When the main valve 11 is opened to the conduit 9 then fluid under pressure flows into the cylinder 6 and pushes the piston 5 for raising and holding the bearing casing 7 in suitable chuck aligning position in the web roll 12.

In order to correctly align the chuck spindles with the axis of the web roll 12 a stroke limiting valve 13 (FIG- URE 2) is acted upon by an adjustable abutment 14 on the casing 7 so that after a predetermined rise of the casing 7 when the chuck spindle on the bearing casing 7 is in proper axial alignment, the abutment 14 opens the normally closed limiting valve 13 to a by-pass conduit 15, thereby to by-pass flow from conduit 9 at a rate to limit the pressure in the intake conduit 8 thereby to hold the piston 5 at its predetermined aligning position.

The sensor and regulator device 18 is interconnected between the brake cylinder 19 and the intake conduit 8 so as to transmit variation of hydraulic pressure in the cylinder 6 and intake conduit 8 to the brake cylinders 19.

The sensor and regulator device 18 (FIGURE 4) is substantially as shown on said US. Patent No. 3,306,551. It includes a lever 20 pivoted near one end thereof on a pivot 22, which latter is supported on a plate 23 suitably mounted on the adjacent upright 1 of the unwind stand. On the plate 23 there is also pivotally mounted an end of a sensor cylinder 24. A sensor piston 25 Works in the sensor cylinder 24. The piston rod 26 of the sensor piston 25 is suitably fulcrumed by a sensor pivot 27 to the lever 20 nearer to the lever pivot 22 then to the free end 28 of lever 20.

To the lever end 21 is pivoted the piston rod 29 of a regulator piston 30 working in a regulator cylinder 31. To the top of the sensor cylinder 24 is connected a sensor conduit 32 which connects to the intake conduit 8 or to conduit 9. The outlet end of the regulator cylinder 31 is connected by a regulator conduit 33 and its branches 34 to the intake ends of the brake cylinders 19 on the chuck spindles.

As the pressure decreases in the raising cylinder 6 according to the weight of the paper roll or web roll 12, the pressure in the sensor cylinder is also decreased permitting the sensor piston 25 to rise, thereby lowering the other end 21 of the lever 20 and pulling down the regu-. lator piston 30, thereby relieving part of the pressure in the braking cylinders 19.

The weight of the web roll 12 and its diameter change together as the web is unwound, hence the regulation of brake pressure is compensated to the combined change of the web roll. For this purpose and adjustable balancing device 35 is pivoted upon the free end of the lever 20. This balancing device 35 includes toggle links 36 and 37, pivoted to one another. Toggle link 36 is pivoted to the free end of the lever 20 and the longer toggle link 37 is pivoted to the plate 23 in such manner that the toggle pivot 38 of the links 36 and 37 is normally ofiset toward the sensor cylinder 24. A sensor coil spring 39 has one end hooked into the longer toggle link 37 above the toggle pivot 38, and has its other end hooked into the lower end of a spring link 40 which latter is pivoted at its other end to the plate 23 in substantially horizontal registry with the top pivot of the longer toggle link 37.

On the spring link 40 is a lug 41 in which is journalled the end of an adjusting screw 42. This adjusting screw 42 is guided in a lug 43 on the plate 23 and is threaded into a threaded lug 44 near the edge of the plate 23. The pull of the coil spring 39 presses the link lug 41 against the end of the adjusting screw 42 and this predetermines the tension of the sensor coil spring 39. A nut 45 on the outer end of the adjusting screw 42 bears against the threaded lug 44 to lock the adjusting screw 42 in the adjusted position.

The adjusted pull exerted by the sensor spring 39 holds the toggle pivot 38 in a predetermined position and thus holds the free end of the lever 20 in an initial position wherein the pistons 25 and 30 respectively in the sensor cylinder 24 and in the regulator cylinder 31 are substantially at the same level, the cylinders being substantially equal. This is an initially balanced attitude with predetermined resistance corresponding to the change of weight of the web roll as it is unwound.

A brake master cylinder 46 has its piston 47 adjusted by a suitable manual adjusting device 48 to a normal initial brake pressure in the brake cylinders 19.

The adjustable chuck spindle support The uprights 1 are supported on a wheeled base 51, and usual means not herein shown, are provided to adjust the uprights so as to vary the distance between them for accommodating the web roll 12. A chuck spindle 52 is suitably journalled at the top of each upright 1 so as to extend into and engage the core of the web roll 12.

One of the chuck spindles 52 is journalled in the adjustable bearing casing 7 on the adjacent upright 1. This casing 7 is in the form of a hood including opposite sides 53 (FIGURE 2) transverse to the axis of the adjacent chuck spindle 52, a top 54 sloping toward a lower end wall 56, and a higher end wall 57. A pivot bracket 58 fixed on the top of the upright 1 holds a pivot shaft 59 extended through the sides 53 adjacent the lower end wall 56, whereby the casing 7 is pivoted about an axis generally parallel with the axis of the chuck spindle 52. The shaft 61 of the chuck spindle 52 is supported in suitable bearings 62 in the perpendicular sides 53 of the hood casing 7. A suitable hydraulic brake 63 is mounted on the end of the chuck spindle shaft 61, and another hydraulic brake 63 is on the fixed chuck spindle, each brake being controlled through one of the brake cylinders 19, as heretofore described.

A fixed rib 64 extended from one side 53 to the other and parallel with the end walls 56 and 57 rests on the free end of the piston rod 4 to transmit pressure of the weight of the web roll on the hydraulic control system. The limiting valve 13 is mounted on a fixed bracket wall 66 and the by-pass actuating abutment 14 is extended from the adjacent end wall 57 of the casing 7 and it is preadjusted by an abutment screw 67 to actuate the bypass in the properly aligned position of the chuck spindle 52 in the end wall 57.

OPERATION In operation, pressure in the raising cylinder 6 raises the piston and through the piston rod 4 and the rib 64 raises the casing 7 about its pivot shaft 59. After the axis of the chuck spindle 52 is slightly beyond the axially aligned position with the fixed chuck spindle 52 on the opposite upright 1, and with the axis of the web roll 12, the abutment 14 actuates the by-pass or limiting valve 13 to stop the rising of the casing 7. Then the main valve 11 is closed and the weight of the web roll 12 is exerted on the liquid and the lifting piston 5 and the casing 7 are pushed slightly down into the proper chuck spindle aligning position, where the abutment 14 is disengaged from the limiting valve 13 which latter is allowed to return to its normally closed position. The weight of the web roll 12 is thus held on the closed hydraulic circuit, thereby the pressure presses down the sensor piston 25 in the sensor cylinder 24 so far as it is permitted by the pre-adjusted tension of the coil spring 39. The movement of the lever is the combined result of the increased pressure on the sensor piston and of the preadjusted tension of the sensor spring 39. This result movement or force upon the lever 20 correspondingly raises the other end 21 of the lever 20 and thereby pushes the regulator piston into the regulator cylinder 31, forcing fluid under pressure in the closed brake circuit through the regulator conduit 33 and its branches 34 into the brake cylinders 19 for correspondingly applying the brakes on the chuck spindles 52. As the web roll 12 is unwound its diameter as well as its weight decreases and the pressure in the raising cylinder 6 raises the piston 5 and the casing 7 slightly, thereby actuates the by-pass limiting valve 13 and relieves the pressure in the system until the pressure and the weight of the cylinder is balanced, whereupon the casing 7 lowers into alignment and shuts off the limiting by-pass valve 13. Due to the combined effect of the reduced pressure in the system and in the sensor cylinder 24 and of the pull of the pre-adjusted sensor spring 39, the toggle links brake in further about the middle fulcrum 38 thereby raising the free end 28 of the lever 20V and correspondingly lowering the regulator piston 30 and thus decreasing the pressure in the brake cylinders 19.

In this manner the brake action on the spindle chucks 52 of the unwind stand is automatically regulated according to the decrease of the diameter and weight of the web roll 12, and constant tension is maintained on the web as it is unwound by the usual processing machine, One of the chuck spindles remains in fixed alignment, and the other chuck spindle 52 is maintained in substantial alignment with minimal play for the brake tension regulation as hereinbefore described.

The proportions and forces exerted by the sensor and regulator devices are substantially as described in said Patent No. 3,306,551, so as to produce the substantially constant tangential tension on the web unwound from Web roll 12 through out the winding operation.

I claim:

1. In an unwind stand having stationary uprights and opposite chuck spindles adjustable toward one another to engage a web roll axially, each chuck spindle having a fluid actuated brake thereon, the improvement comprising:

(a) an adjustable journal support for at least one of said chuck spindles,

(b) fluid actuated raising means to raise said support so as to align the chuck spindle thereon with the axis of the web roll,

(c) a fluid actuated sensor system interconnected with said fluid actuated support raising means,

((1) a brake pressure regulator actuated by said sensor system according to the fluid pressure exerted in said fluid actuated support raising means by said web roll, for decreasing the brake resistance of said brakes to the rotation of said chuck spindles in accordance with the decrease of the weight and diameter of said web roll during unwinding thereby to maintain substantially constant tension on the web during the unwinding of said web roll,

(e) normally closed fluid by-pass means interconnected with said fluid actuated means to limit the raising of said chuck spindle support by by-passing liquid fro-m said fluid actuated means whenever the fluid pressure overbalances said web roll,

(f) and means operated by the raising of said support beyond the axial alignment of the chuck spindle thereon for opening said normally closed by-pass means, thereby decreasing the pressure in said fluid actuated raising means and in said sensor and regulator system correspondingly to the decrease of pressure in said fluid actuated raising means.

2. The invention defined in claim 1 and said adjustable journal support comprising,

(g) a hood,

(h) journals for supporting a spindle chuck on said hood,

(i) means to pivotally connect said hood to the adjacent upright for adjustment of the position of said chuck spindle,

(j) a resting member formed in said hOOd spaced from said pivot,

(k) a moving member of said fluid actuated raising means engaging said resting member for raising said hood.

3'. The invention defined in claim 2, wherein said fluid actuated raising means includes,

(1) a cylinder connected into said fluid actuated sensor system,

(m) said moving member being a piston Working in said cylinder,

(n) and means to transmit the load on said chuck spindle and on said hood through said resting member to said piston.

4. The invention defined in claim 2, wherein the pivot axis of said pivotal connection means is generally parallel with and spaced from said chuck spindle.

5. The invention defined in claim 1, and

(g) said adjustable journal support includes journal casing,

(h) pivot support pivotally connecting the journal casing to the adjacent upright,

(i) said fluid actuated raising means engaging said journal casing at a point spaced from said pivot support for raising and lowering said casing about the axis of said pivot support,

(j) said means for opening said by-pass means including members on said by-pass means and on said casing coacting when said casing is moved,

(k) and means to pre-adjust the relation between said coacting members for operating said by-pass at a predetermined casing position relatively to the axis of said chuck spindle.

6. The invention defined in claim 5, and

(l) the axis of said pivot support being generally parallel with the axis of the journal of the adjacent chuck spindle.

7. The invention defined in claim 1 and (g) said adjustable journal support including a journal casing,

(h) means to pivotally connect said journal casing to the adjacent upright, the pivot axis being spaced from the axis of the adjacent chuck spindle,

(i) said means for opening said by-pass means including coacting members on said by-pass means and on said casing operating when said casing is moved about said pivot,

(j) means to pre-adjust at least one of said coacting members for operating said by-pass at a predetermined casing position relatively to the alignment of the chuck spindle thereon.

8. The invention defined in claim 7 and (k) said fluid actuated raising means engaging said journal casing between said pivot support and said coacting members.

9. The invention defined in claim 8, wherein the axis of said pivot support is generally parallel with the axis of the chuck spindle on said casing.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,039,712 6/1962 Weber et al 242--68.4 X 3,276,711 10/1966 Martin 24258.6 3,306,551 2/1967 Martin 242-7546 NATHAN L. MINTZ, Primary Examiner 

